The Aftermath
by iLiKeTrUfFlEs4510
Summary: It's worse without Johnny and Dallas here. One tragedy after another, it all ends to one happiness.
1. Michelle Walters

Wiping the remaining tear from my eye returning from the funeral, I stepped onto my doorstep and grabbed hold of the door handle.

It was Johnny and Dally's funeral-of course. Steve was actually crying-first time I've ever seen him. Soda and Ponyboy were bawling their eyes out and Darry was standing there with his head ducked down. Pony and Darry, along with Tim Shepherd and Buck went up to say a few words. A LOT of people showed up-even Dally's alcoholic father. Johnny's parents didn't show.

They were also buried next to each other; it was nice.

I opened the door and walked on in.

"I'm home!" I said.

Then I stopped to a halt as soon as I saw the person standing in front of me. I was frozen; couldn't move, couldn't speak, I couldn't do anything.

It was _her_.

Michelle Walters.

Michelle Walters is this girl I met when Soda, Steve, and I all went to a party. It was DAYS before Johnny and Dally died-even days before Ponyboy and Johnny ran away. It was back then when everything was okay and nothing bad happened.

We got drunk-all three of us. I'm not the type of person who likes getting drunk a lot. I'll have a beer during the day now and then, but not enough to get me really drunk. I saw Michelle there, and she was someone who was absolutely obsessed with me. She was a nice girl, a real sweetheart. I woulda dated her if I knew her personally and wasn't going with Cathy. At the same time I wouldn't though because she doesn't stop talking to me. Every day I see her she builds up conversation for at least an hour about something really stupid and ends it by looking at me with a loving look in her eyes.

So that night Steve, Soda, and I were sitting at the bar fooling around when Michelle took a seat next to me. She was so drunk I thought she was going to be acting the same way she did that night the entire week. Her words were really slurred and combined so I could barely understand what she was saying. "Ayyy. Twobitmatthews HIIII. Youremember who I am right I'm MichelleWalters yea. I want you-toooo-looove me!" Then she wrapped her arms around my neck really tight but Sodapop pulled me back before she could of gotten any closer.

"You gotta get over the fact that Two-Bit doesn't like you!" Soda said.

"Wha-NOOOO. I know he loves me don't you Two-Bit"

"Not really actually" I said, making everyone laugh.

She still had that dumb drunken smile on her face. Guess she didn't care.

She turned around to talk to her friends so I turned around to talk to Soda and Steve.

Five minutes after I took another sip from my drink, I passed out cold.

When I woke up, I was on the ground of the bathroom. I saw silhouettes of red and blue flashing lights and the muffled sound of someone asking questions to Steve and Soda. The voices sounded professional so I guessed it was cops. I also heard "Get in the back" and what sounded like handcuffs being cuffed. I sat up a little bit, wincing. For some reason, everything hurt. Sure, I was hung over. But EVERYTHING hurt. I almost gasped when I noticed that ALL my pants were down…

I was raped.

Yeah, a boy getting raped-you don't really hear that one a lot.

But she raped me. I guess she was that obsessed. She put a date rape drug in my drink which made me pass out. She drug me to the bathroom to do it.

Michelle was standing in my kitchen clutching onto her purse. Her brown hair was shorter than at the party, and pulled back behind her ears. She looked kind of nervous.

"Um, hi Two-Bit."

"Hi." I was surprised I could get anything out of my mouth.

"I got released from…jail just about a couple weeks ago."  
"Good for you."

It was silent for awhile.

"I…um…I wanted to talk to you. About the whole thing that happened."

"Um, alright."

We both had a seat facing each other on my living room couches.

"Listen. I had NO idea what I was doing. Of course that's something everyone would expect me to say but it's true. I've never gotten that drunk in my LIFE. When I woke up the next day in a jail cell, I was panicking because I had no idea what happened. I'm SO sorry Two-Bit. I know you probably hate me and you'll never forget what I did-but please try to find room in your heart to forgive me."

I couldn't look at her. I was thinking for awhile and I thought about how Sodapop and Steve were extremely scared, Darry and Pony never found out about it, and Soda and Steve hate Michelle with a passion.

"I don't hate you." I managed to say. I felt like I was a whole other person watching me and Michelle's conversation on TV. I didn't even think about what I had to say, the words just stumbled out.

She still looked at me.

It was silent. I had nothing to say-I didn't feel comfortable carrying on with the conversation.

"Please don't be scared of me. I decided I don't even like you that way anymore. What I did was just horrible."  
"Yes, it was."

Her head ducked down.

"I'm not even that type of girl. I would NEVER do something like that to a person. I vowed never ever to drink again."  
I simply nodded.

She sighed after a long period of silence.

"I might as well get going. This is getting awkward."  
"It's been awkward."  
"I know."

More silence.

When she reached the door she turned around. "Can we try to move past this?" she asked.

The truth was, I didn't know. I just wanted her out so I said "Sure" And faked a smile.

"Thanks" she said with a real smile and left.

I sighed. I was never going to move past that. Why did she have to bring it up anyway?


	2. Letting Pony In

Once I made sure Michelle was out of sight from my house and neighborhood, I ran to the Curtis' house. I had to talk to Soda and Steve and tell them about what had happened with Michelle.

When I knocked on the screen door Ponyboy immediately looked up from the couch and smiled big. "Hey Two-Bit! Come on in-Mickey's on TV!"

A sudden burst of excitement shot through me. I smiled a big real smile and my eyes widened. I loved Mickey Mouse. That little cartoon mouse was like a reassurance. Him and his buddies reminded me of our gang. They were together like glue no matter what. Nothing could ever separate them. Sadly the only difference between us greasers and Mickey Mouse's gang was that nothing bad ever happened to them. No matter what, they were optimistic and friendly 24/7. Unlike us…

I walked right in and plopped a seat down next to Ponyboy. I took some potato chips from the bowl that separated us and I was so wrapped up in Mickey that I completely forgot about what I was doing here.

"Oh, hey Two-Bit!" Sodapop said when he walked into the room. I snapped out of my Mickey daze and remembered why I was here.

"Hey Soda" I smiled and got up. "Is Steve here?"

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen."  
"I need to talk to you both about something." I quickly looked at Ponyboy. He was looking at me concerned and confused. I quickly looked back at Soda.

"Uh…sure?" He replied.

He led me to the kitchen where Steve was.

"Hey, Two-Bit." Steve said with a smile.

"Hey Steve. I need to talk to you and Soda about something. It's important."

His smile disappeared.

"Okay."

"Guess who stopped by my house today after the funeral?"

They didn't answer. They just stared.

"Michelle Walters."

Steve shot a death glare at me, but I knew it was directed to Michelle. Sodapop's fists were clenched really tight at his sides.

He said this really quietly, but it was silent enough already so I could hear it loud and clear. "What was that bitch doing at your house." Soda said. It wasn't even a question. It was more like a demand. Just something he said that doesn't deserve an answer.

"She came to apologize"

Steve burst into laughter. "Apologize? APOLOGIZE? How could you goddamn APOLOGIZE for something like what she frickin DID to you? That's nothing you could just say 'I'm sorry' to. Goddamn it. GODDAMN IT IM GONNA FRICKIN KILL THIS GIRL!" Soda put a calm hand on Steve's shoulder. "Calm down." He said quietly. "Ponyboy will hear you."

"I don't care that he can hear me! He should know that this has happened-Darry should too! It's been enough that Pony's lost his parents, Johnny, and Dally! NOTHING, not even THIS will be as bad as that! PONYBOY, GET IN HERE!" I saw the look of hurt and terror in Soda's eyes. He looked like he wanted to cry. This was definitely not like Steve.

Ponyboy silently walked into the kitchen, hesitant and scared. "…What is it…?"

"Nothing, Pone…go to our room and go to sleep okay? Steve's just a little upset." Soda cooed. "…Alright…" Ponyboy said walking off to his room.

"Don't scare Ponyboy like that ever again do you understand? He's younger than us so he's more sensitive and scared.." "Guys, back on the subject." I interrupted.

They shut up.

"So she apologized and said 'she's not that kind of girl'. She said she's never been that drunk before either and she didn't know what she was doing."  
"Well I don't care what the story is but I'm never gonna forgive her. She can go straight to hell." Steve said, a little calmer this time.

"The main reason why I wanted to talk to you is because I'm still debating whether to tell Darry and Ponyboy." Then I just remembered what I said about Mickey Mouse. We should be together, every step of the way.

"Of course you should." Soda said with a stifle of a yawn. "Why don't I tell Pony tonight?" he stretched his arms around his neck and yawned again.

I wanted Soda to tell him. I think that would probably be a good idea. He looked tired anyway.

I told him okay and he went for bed. Steve and I agreed to go to my house so the yelling would be around me and only me.


	3. Why Did You Keep It Away?

***********************Soda's point of view*******************************

When I walked into the bedroom, Ponyboy was wide awake. "Hey Pone." I said, kind and comforting as I went under the covers. "Wh-what's going on?" Pony asked, facing me. I sighed and wrapped my arms around him. He laid his head on my shoulder and we were quiet for a couple minutes.

"Please tell me Soda."

"It's not something that you would want to hear."  
"Well you would be right if I wasn't asking you to tell me." He said.

Clever kid.

I sighed,

"Fine, I'll tell you. You might get scared though."  
"So what? Just tell me."  
"Okay."

I hesitated for a moment then just let it all out.

"Two-Bit…he…he got raped."

Looking at Ponyboy's eyes, I saw that he was scared.

Terrified, at the least. He wasn't moving. Speechless, he stared off in a daze for about three minutes. "When" he said plainly and coolly.

"It was the night me, Steve, and Two-Bit went to that party…you know I was with Sandy and Steve went with Silvia? Two-Bit went with Cathy. Anyway, it was the same night you, Johnny, and Dal went to the drive-in."

He nodded but looked kinda upset. He buried his face in my chest as I pulled him closer. 'That's really scary." He said in a muffled tone. I laughed silently then loosened my hold.

"Why did you keep this from Darry and I?" he asked.

I had to think about this one for awhile. I seriously didn't know.

"I don't know, Pony." I said with sort of an awkward smile. I rumpled his hair and fell asleep.

**yeah, its incredibly short. sorry :S haha**


	4. Now Everyone Knows

********************************Two-Bit's pov*************************

I lie awake in my bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking. Why do all the bad things happen to us? WE have to loose two people we care abut the most, and Darry, Ponyboy, and Soda lost four. Not only that but WE get jumped, WE get blamed for things, WE get locked up in jail and WE are the ones who get our pictures in the paper for police searches. It's simply not fair.

I also thought about whether or not Soda really did tell Ponyboy about what had happened, and I wanted to know what his reaction was. Poor kid. Only 14 years old and he's getting all these bad things happen to him. I'm just happy that he has us to reassure him. Especially Soda…man they're close.

I was also wondering if Steve told Darry yet. We talked about that when we left the Curtis' house. He said he wouldn't kill Michelle as long as he's allowed to tell Darry. I laughed after he said that but he was serious.

After a whole lot of thinking and tossing and turning, I fell asleep.

*************************Soda's pov******************************

The next morning, breakfast was silent. We didn't rush since it was a weekend and I didn't have work and Pony didn't have school. Everyone just stared at their food and didn't look at eachother. It was awkward.

Suddenly Darry broke the silence. "I heard what happened with Two-Bit." I guess Steve did tell him. All I said back was "Yup."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know. Didn't want you guys to be scared or anything I guess."

"We all have to be out for eachother, Soda. Don't keep secrets-especially for something like that."  
I nodded. He looked at Ponyboy. "Do you know what happened to Two-Bit?"

I looked at him. He said "Yeah" real quiet.

Darry gave me a look and shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"Darry, he just told me last night. He was gonna tell you this morning anyway." Pony said.

We smiled at each other. Darry looked at us both and picked up his plate. "I don't buy it." He said and left for the sink. Me and Pony silently laughed.

******************************Two-Bit's pov*****************************

I got lonely the next morning so I decided to visit the Curtis boys. I just walked right on in the door and shouted "Anyone home?" Darry said "Two-Bit!" Him and Ponyboy immediately walked up to me with a look of concern on their faces. I looked at Soda who was sitting at the table. He shot me a look that said "They know"

"We heard what happened." Darry said.

"I realized." I replied, laughing.

"I never heard of this Michelle Walters character." Darry said.

"Michelle Walters did it?" Ponyboy said.

"Yeah. I thought you knew, Pony."

"Soda never told me that Michelle Walters did it!"

"How do you know her?" I asked.

"She goes to my school. She's best friends with Cherry Valance. I think she's real cute. But wow, SHE did it? That's…wow."  
I laughed, but Darry and Pony just stared.

"I honestly just want to forget this ever happened."

"I won't since I JUST HEARD." Darry looked at Sodapop. Sodapop looked down.

"I don't know why you guys are freaking out though." I said. "It's seriously nothing…"

"NOTHING! Two-Bit! Why would you say getting raped is 'nothing'?"

"Because it happened a while ago…and I was completely over it until she came over…" That was a lie, but I had to say that so I could try and forget.

Darry sighed.

"Well, why did you keep it from us?" Ponyboy asked.

"Because I wanted us to all be HAPPY. With your parent's death you were always a downer. I wanted us all to have a good time, so I never told. The reason I told now is because we're already sad enough with Johnny and Dally gone."

It was quiet. I was glad to have proven my point.

"I just want us to be happy again." I said.

Darry and Pony looked at me. Pony then grinned real big. "Let's start off with something exciting." He said.

He plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. Mickey was on. I smiled and sat next to him. "Thanks, bud." I said, putting my arm around his shoulder.


	5. October

***************************Soda's pov*********************************  
I was surprised. For months we were all perfectly fine. It seemed like we completely forgot about what happened to Two-Bit and we just moved on.

Nothing bad happened, no Soc business. But it was October when that changed.

I went out to get the mail, and it looked like we had a couple electric bills, something for Darry, and something for me. I threw the rest of the letters on the table and took out mine. "Mail's here." I said quickly then plopped a seat down on the couch. I ripped open the envelope, and read slowly.

As I read it, I got sadder and sadder. My stomach did a bunch of flip-flops and I clutched my head in my hand that wasn't holding the paper. I didn't want to read it any more but I couldn't get my eyes off the paper. I sank further and further into the couch cushion and tears were blocked in my eyes.

I was drafted.

The Iraq War has been going on for awhile, and I had my military training a couple years ago just in case I did have to go in. I highly doubted I would have to, but I did do pretty good in training. Technically I was an official military leader.

A tear ran down my cheek when I put down the paper and finished reading it. I had to go in about two weeks from now. "Soda, are you okay?" Darry came into the room. I guess he heard me sniffling.

"No."

"What's wrong?"

I stared blankly ahead for a minute, then gave him the paper.

"Here."

I looked at him as he was reading it. His eyes were widening, and I saw them getting wet. He began to shake. He swallowed the lump in his throat then put the paper down. We just stared at each other, then he said "Soda…" and ran over to me. I got up and hugged him. We stood there hugging and crying. "I can't believe this. I can't do this. I'm so scared, Dar." I said. "You'll be fine." He replied. "Following in Gramps' footsteps." He smiled. My grandfather was a veteran in the Vietnam War.

Ponyboy walked in and saw us crying. "What's going on?" He asked.

We pulled away and just stared at him. Then I opened my arms and said "Pony…" I started crying harder.

"Why are we hugging? Why are we crying?" Ponyboy asked.

I pulled away, sniffled, and wiped a couple tears away. I grabbed the paper and handed it to him.

Pony's reaction was worse. As soon as he took a five-second look at it he began to bawl. He buried his face in my chest as I wrapped my arms around him again. I let him cry as I was holding back tears. I looked at Darry and his head was down, his hands in his pockets. A couple tears he shed hit the ground.

I'm gonna miss him so much.

Darry called Two-Bit and Steve to tell them the news, and they came over right away. We all hung out, but I felt so bad for Pony. He was still sniffling, even when I stopped.

The next week went by slow, and I liked that. I didn't wanna leave my best friends, my older brother, and my baby brother at ALL. To me, this is worse than when Sandy left me. I nearly died then, but this was much, much worse.

The day came. I had my bags with me, and I was standing in front of the door with Darry, Ponyboy, Two-Bit, and Steve. Ponyboy was crying and Darry's arm was around him. Two-Bit's head was down next to Pony, his hand on Pony's shoulder. Steve was standing there next to Darry with his hands in his pockets, teary-eyed.

I sniffled. "G-goodbye." I said. "Don't say that." Pony demanded. I laughed a little bit. "Okay. I love you so much and am gonna miss you, Ponyboy." I hugged him and kissed his forehead as a reassurance. "Darry. God, I'm gonna miss ya." I hugged Darry and hesitated to pull away. "Steve, take care of the station." I smiled. "I'll miss you." I hugged him really long, too. "Two-Bit…" I said, then laughed a little. "Gonna miss ya." I smiled and hugged him. I took one last look at my family, then opened the door and stepped out. Walking along the walkway, I was crying again. I heart Ponyboy and he was crying very hard.

*******************************Two-Bit's pov*****************************

The next couple of months were long and hard. We've all been having a hard time with Sodapop gone. I tried cheering everyone up but it didn't work well since I was upset too.

One day going to the Curtis' house, they seemed better. They were taking it very well I thought. Ponyboy was doing some dishes while Darry was doing laundry. They were talking and laughing in the process.

"Hey guys." I came into the house.

"Two-Bit!" Ponyboy smiled. I smiled back. I love it when that poor troubled kid lights up.

"Heeeyyyy Pone!" I said "I see you guys are coping well." I said to Darry.

"Yeah It's not like he's gone forever."

"Plus he's comin back for Christmas!" Ponyboy said, excited. I got pretty excited too after he said that. It was already December 18th.

Darry laughed. "Yes, he's coming back for Christmas."

Ponyboy grinned real big then went back to the dishes.

I loved Christmas with the rest of the greasers. All seven of us always hung around laughing and pulling pranks on each other, giving a couple gifts now and then and just being stupid all around. I began to wonder what it would be like with five…

**************************Sodapop's pov*********************************

"I'm so excited to go back home for Christmas…my brother Ponyboy probably misses me so much!" I exclaimed to my bunkmate, Ralph. He's an African American with brown eyes and a lean body. He has pretty good muscle. He's really sweet and a great friend. "I'm gonna go back to my family too." Ralph said. "You're in Tulsa, right?" he asked me. "Yeah." I said with a smile. "You're in Miami?" "Yup." He replied. "We gotta get on the field now, don't we?" he asked. "Oh, right." I frowned. I hated fighting so much. I was real good, but the gunshots always reminded me of Dally.


	6. Home For Christmas

**************Two-Bit's pov****************

I was hanging out at the Curtis' house with Steve tagged along. It was December 22nd, the day Sodapop was going to come home for Christmas. Darry and I were sitting on the couch. Mickey Mouse was on; I was watching it, but Darry was watching the door. Steve was in the kitchen eating some leftover chocolate cake, and Ponyboy was standing near the door looking out the window. He was all fidgety. Darry kept telling him to calm down but he wouldn't.

Then a big yelp from Pony distracted me from my Mickey reminiscing. "SODA!" He screamed. I looked up and saw a blurred Sodapop coming up the walkway. I smiled and turned off the TV. "Soda soda soda soda soda soda soda soda soda soda soda soda soda" Pony repeated over and over. It got louder the closer he got to the door. Once he arrived and opened the door Ponyboy screamed "SODAPOP!" and tackled him. Darry and I got up from the couch and stood near him. I was laughing and Darry was beaming. Steve came in from the kitchen and said "My DX buddy's here!" walking over to him, knelt down, and rumpled his hair.

When both of them got off Soda, Darry and I took turns hugging and greeting him. I was SO happy to see him again, but so sad he could only stay for a week.

"Want chocolate cake?" Darry asked. We all laughed.

"Definitely." Soda said, mid-laugh. "Typical Darry."  
We all laughed again.

It was Christmas Day, and I picked up Steve to go to the Curtis' place. When we got there, Soda and Pony were goofing off and Darry was just shaking his head with a big smile on his face.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I yelled running through the door. I dropped their presents next to them. "Ho-Ho-Ho!" Steve said behind me.

We all were smiling laughing, and enjoying the stuff we got. Of course, the stuff was nothing. Like maybe a Mickey Mouse thing from me or a DX station cap from Steve or Soda, but of course that didn't matter. We had fun at Christmas anyway.

"Whoa, Darry. Where did you get that huge turkey?" Ponyboy asked when he had dinner on the table.

"I caught it." He said all proud of himself.

We laughed at his little matter-of-factly attitude.

****************Sodapop's pov*****************

Every night since I got home, Ponyboy always fell asleep right away because he used up all his energy during the day.

On Christmas Day he actually stayed up with me, though. "Hey Soda?"

"Yeah?"

"Is war scary?"

I turned and gave him a hug.

"Not when you're an amazing fighter."

He laughed.

"I met this guy named Ralph. He's my bunkmate. We're pretty good friends now. He lives in Miami."  
"In Florida?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

There was silence for awhile. Then Pony asked a question that I seriously couldn't answer.

"Sodapop, what if you died?"

I could tell that when he asked that, it hurt him.

I put my chin on his head.

"Well, I guess you could say that if I died, I died for you. I died for Dally, Johnny, Mom and Dad…I died for Darry, Steve, and Two-Bit too." I replied.

"I would probably kill myself if you died, Soda." He said.

I laughed silently. "That's sweet I guess." He said.

With that, I yawned and fell asleep.


	7. Surprise Shooting

Ponyboy was helping me pack my bags, and I was packing them slowly. Darry was also in the room leaning against the wall. We weren't silent, we were actually talking a lot. And I was surprised Ponyboy wasn't crying again.

Before I left the house, Darry said "Soda, I never told you this the first time you left, but try your best out there." "I will, Dar. I'm not only gonna do it for my country, but I'm gonna do it for us and all the greasers."  
God, that sounded cheesy. But Darry smiled. "That's my boy." He said quietly. Usually I hated it when he did that; it reminded me too much of Dad. But now I loved it. He patted my back and I hugged him. I squeezed the living daylights out of Ponyboy. He was laughing and once I let him go he told me he loved me, so I said the same back.

After shutting the door, I said "I love you both!" And went off.

In the plane, I saw Ralph writing something. "What's that?" I asked. "A letter to my girlfriend Katrina." "Ooh, Katrinnaaa." I teased, punching his shoulder. He laughed. "Well actually she's my fiancée." He said, blushing. "Good for you man." I said, smiling. "I used to have this girl, Sandy, and I was in love with her. But then she broke up with me before I proposed." "Sorry, man." "It happened awhile ago. Plus a lot of girls fall for me where I work."

We laughed.

"GO! GO! GO!" I shouted from the bush. I was knelt down low with my huge gun in hand, gesturing Ralph and other men nearby to split up and move to other parts of the battlefield.

"COME ON MEN WE GOTTA MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

The enemy was closing in on us, they were getting stronger now.

"SHOOT!" I said, following along and pulling the trigger on my gun. After that I quickly got up and ran to join Mark, a guy in my platoon. I never really bonded with him.

He was hiding behind the tree, gun blending him in along with his camouflage uniform. I knelt down next to him and watched the dust rising, the sound of the gunshot's shooting, and the feeling of dirt and discomfort all over me. "Is anyone coming?" Mark asked. He wasn't facing where the enemy was coming from, and if he turned around, he was sure to get seen. "No," I whispered. "Let me know if someone does." "You know I will." He laughed. "Thanks, man. I never got your name." "Sodapop Curtis." "Your name is Sodapop?" "Yeah. I've got a brother named Ponyboy too."

Ponyboy. I missed him.

Mark laughed. "That's cool, dude. That's cool." I smiled. I liked Mark.

Then I saw someone coming. "Someone's coming!" I whispered really quietly, but Mark could still hear me. Mark blended in more, and I ducked down lower.

"I see you. Why don't you show your faces?" A voice said. I kept low. So did Mark.

"This is a war. You're not supposed to be a COWARD." It said again.

We still kept low.

He laughed, and then I heard a gunshot really close to me. I shut my eyes.

Silence.

"Mark?" I whispered. "Yeah?" "It was you who shooted, wasn't it?" "Yeah." I smiled. "Good work." "Thanks."

I felt free to lean up a little higher, just to see the person who Mark killed. I gasped, and stood up all the way. "Get down!" Mark said. I knelt down, but I was still in shock. I DID know who it was.

Randy Adderson.


	8. Reunion

I was so wrapped up that the man was Randy, I could hardly pay attention to what I was doing. It was extremely dangerous that I was so distracted, but I just followed Mark every step of the way.

Suddenly Mark gasped, grabbed my shoulder, and tugged me downward. "Get down" he whispered. I had no idea what was going on. "What's going.." "Shh." He interrupted. I shut up.

After 20 minutes I decided to relax a little bit. Mark was still tensed up. I laughed silently and leaned back. "Sodapop, you should get back in position." "Why, no one is coming?" "I can sense it. Someone's coming." I decided to get back into position.

Then I heard rustling, so I tensed up like Mark. Then I heard a gunshot. Like I did before, I closed my eyes. I felt something whiz past me. _Ha. _I thought. _They missed._

I opened my eyes and I heard another, so I shut them. _Shit. _I thought. My eyes were open, and all I could feel was pain. Horrible pain, like a literal hole in my heart. _I've been hit. _I couldn't talk-all I could do was clutch my chest. The bullet hit right in the middle of my heart. I looked down at my hands and they were dripping with blood.

I had trouble breathing, and I laid on the ground trying not to make any noise. "Sodapop! What are you…" Mark started, then he saw me. "Oh my God…" he began inching toward me. "NO." I said. "I'll be fine. Just let me here." "No, I'm not gonna leave a man behind." "Just do it!" I said, wincing.

God it hurt so much.

I coughed up some blood, and my vision was getting blurrier and blurrier until I could no longer see a thing. One by one, each of my senses failed. One by one, each of my organs failed. One by one, everything in my body failed. I finally stopped breathing.

As if it was next in line, my eyelids closed. They never opened again.

I felt alive. All of a sudden, I felt as if I were floating. I looked down, and I was myself again. No bullet. No camo uniform. I was wearing a regular casual outfit I usually wore around the house on a weekend. Looking ahead, I saw the silhouettes of two figures. One was somewhat shorter than the other. _God? Jesus? _I wondered. _Am I in heaven? _I was in a really nice place, so I thought I might as well have been. I inched closer to the figures, and I could make out their features. They were a man and a woman. The man had brown hair, the woman had blond…"MOMMY! DADDY!" I screamed, and ran full blast to them. I began to cry really hard as I hugged them. They hugged me back, which made me cry harder. I _was _in Heaven. I was with my Mom and Dad again…it was a miracle. My Dad rubbed my back and my Mom said "Hey baby." Those two words made me so unbelievably happy that it was my MOM saying them! My beautiful caring mom who died in an auto wreck along with my Dad. All those memories that made me cry back on Earth were coming back to my head. I was extremely excited.

Once they pulled away, I looked at their faces. They were smiling the biggest smile I've ever seen and they were looking into my eyes. My dad then looked over my head, sort of looking west. He nodded. "Someone's here for you." He said. I was overjoyed that he said something, just like my mom.

I turned around, and gasped. "JOHNNY! DALLY!" I screamed. I started crying again as they laughed when I hugged them. Johnny had no more burns, no more cuts. Perfect condition, not even a scar or a bruise from his parent's beatings. Dally looked perfectly fine too. No bullet, just like me. "Ayyyyyy Soda." They said. "Soda's here?" A voice said. Who could that have been? A silhouette of a tall guy with blonde curly hair came into view.

Bob.

I hated Bob on Earth, but for some reason now it was like he was my best friend. "Hey Bob!" I said, giving him a hug. "Hey! We've been waiting for you!" He said when I pulled away. He put his arm around Johnny and Johnny laughed. I began to laugh. "This guy brought me here!" Bob said, giving him a noogie. We all laughed. "And I thank him for that!" He said with a smile. "Well, you're welcome." Johnny said laughing. "Hey, Soda," My dad said behind me, my mom next to him like when I first arrived. I beamed. I still couldn't get over the fact that my parents were right there. "Wanna see something cool?" He led me to what looked like a balcony made of gold. This place was beautiful. "Look down." He said. I did as told.

I gasped. It was Earth! I could see what Two-Bit, Steve, Darry, and Ponyboy were doing. I could hear their thoughts and feel their feelings. "Wow!" I said. "That's how Mom and me watched you, bud." Dad said, patting my back as I laid on my stomach to watch. "We watched you guys from up here too." Johnny and Dally said in unison with a smile.

I saw my funeral. It made me kinda sad. Darry was crying, and so was Steve and Two-Bit. I couldn't find Ponyboy though.

Curious, I looked at my house. There was Pony. My eyes widened at his condition. I not only _saw_ it, I _felt _it, and it _hurt. _He literally dried out his tear ducts. All his tears were cried out, and the shoulders of his shirts were soaking wet. But yet he was _wailing. _Bawling more than I could ever imagine. He was rolling around and around on our bed producing more tears every time he hit my side. I heard his thoughts and they were REALLY sad. "They're all dead! Everyone I care about!" was one of them. Another that I heard was "GONE. GONE. GONE. GONE." Over and over again. "I AM ALONE. ALONE. ALONE. ALONE." Was a newer one. I stood up and walked away. I could no longer watch that. "You okay, Soda?" Johnny asked. I pointed to the balcony. "See for yourself." He said. Him, Johnny, my parents, and even Bob and Randy went to the other end. "Wow." They all said. My parents turned away immediately. I walked over to them. Dally, Johnny, Bob, and Randy looked like Two-Bit does whenever he watches Mickey Mouse when they were watching Ponyboy.

About an hour later I guessed, talking to my parents and Dally, Johnny, Bob, and Randy STILL watching Earth like it was a movie at the drive-in or something, I heard an uprising from the guys. "Soda, y-you gotta get over here…" Bob said. He seemed kinda scared. I looked at my parents weirdly, and they shrugged.

"O…k…?" I said, confused. As soon as I saw what they were looking at, my eyes widened and I screamed "NO!"


	9. I'll Never See Them Again

*************Two-Bit's pov*******************

I still was left speechless from the letter Soda's general sent us. When we got it, Darry began to cry, Ponyboy bawled, and Steve even started crying. I cried too, but definitely not as much as the rest of them.

Walking back to the Curtis' from Soda's funeral, it was silent. No one talked, only the sound of sniffles left us. Steve and I would've gone home, but we had to see if Ponyboy was okay. He wasn't coping well at all before we left. He never spoke since we found out; all he did was bawl in his room. It made us all so miserable, we couldn't bear it anymore and just left Pony to himself. That's all he wanted anyway. Clearly, we all reminded him of Soda.

Darry walked in first, then Steve, then me. We didn't hear any crying, so I was thinking that he probably cried himself to sleep. I sat down on the couch with Darry and Steve went in the kitchen.

Suddenly we heard a scream.

Darry and I rushed in to see what was happening. "Steve, what's wrong?" Darry asked coming in, then he saw it. I saw it too, and we screamed. All three of us began to cry. "Pone—Pony!" Darry said, picking up Ponyboy's lifeless body. Darry cried harder now, not caring that there was blood from Pony's neck spilling all over his arms. My hand was cupped over my mouth as I cried, scared and miserable. Steve and Darry were all I got left…

Darry was crying really hard as he bandaged up Pony's neck and cleaning the blood off the floor. He picked up the bloody knife and wailed as he tossed it in the trash. Steve picked up the phone and miserably, terrified, called the funeral home. This only made Darry cry harder, and me squinting my eyes shut from the tears stinging my pupils. Darry ran into his room while me and Steve were left with Pony's body. I couldn't look. I turned my head away, and leaned over the sink crying. I ended up throwing up, which made Steve more disgusted and miserable than he already was.

Then Steve began to bawl. I looked at him sympathetically, still crying. "I always acted like I-I didn't like him." He said between sniffles. "The last words that he heard from me were probably something like 'Get lost' or 'Leave me alone'! I didn't want that! Two-Bit, I feel so guilty…" I looked away from Steve. "WHY?" Darry screamed, startling Steve and I. We looked at each other, than at Pony, and immediately looked away, shutting our eyes. "WHY DID I TREAT HIM SO BAD IN THE PAST?" Darry wailed. I shut my eyes again. I wanted to go home, but I couldn't move. I couldn't leave Steve and Darry here alone with…with…with the body…

I wish I could've said Ponyboy. Alive, full-of-life Ponyboy. Well I couldn't. Poor kid. He was only fourteen years old. He hasn't lived his life fully yet. He didn't hit high school yet, didn't date girls yet, didn't do ANYTHING worthwhile yet, and now his life is over. It was bad enough Johnny died, being sixteen, but Pony, fourteen, is worse.

It was hard to know that all my friends died of something horrible. Dal and Soda got shot and Johnny got burned. Now, knowing Pony committed suicide, it was just too hard for me. I wanted to go hide under a rock and never come out. Right now, I wanted to die too. Just drop dead, and join Johnny, Dally, Sodapop, and Ponyboy in heaven. I knew they were there. Without a doubt.

I didn't care about anything for days and days after that. I wanted to die. I was too afraid to kill myself-it would hurt Darry and Steve too much. All the same, I wish Michelle would've stabbed me after raping me. I wish she'd do that right _now_, so maybe I would actually _feel _something. It killed me already, knowing my best friends were dead.

I have no idea how Steve and Darry coped, but as far as I knew I wasn't coping at ALL.

I was done. I kept asking the same question Darry asked over and over again. Why? Why us? Why does everything bad have to happen to us. I guess Ponyboy's killing himself was his own fault, but that didn't matter to me. Four of the greatest friends I've had in the whole world are dead. Gone. Forever.

And I'll never see them again.


	10. Now We Wait

***************Sodapop's pov******************

I was very sad even though no tears left my eyes when Ponyboy cut his throat. He screamed in agony and pain and then collapsed dead on the floor with blood spilling everywhere…I didn't even want to _think _of how Darry would react when he got home, let alone Steve and Two-Bit.

When Pony arrived in heaven, he reacted the same way I did. Running to mom & dad, crying, crying harder after seeing Dally and Johnny, becoming friends with Bob and Randy (Randy came to heaven soon after I did) and soon he came to me.

By the look on his face he was sure to think I was just a statue, or a figment of his imagination. "Soda?" he whimpered. I beamed and opened my arms. "Pony." I said. My bottom lip trembled as he nearly tackled me running into my arms. Muffled words came out of his mouth like "It really is you!" or "I love you ever so much and I can't believe you're here." We were both crying until Dad interrupted and showed him the Earth thing like he showed me.

While my parents were over there talking to him, I was talking with Dally, Johnny, Bob, and Randy. "That was a stupid move by him." Dally said. "I know. Poor Dar lost all his brothers and parents now. I won't be surprised if he killed himself, too." Johnny said. We weren't gossiping about Ponyboy, just talking about things that he did that would probably hurt Darry, Steve, or Two-Bit.

"He had a whole life ahead of him." Randy said.

"I did too but not as much. He was only 14." Johnny said.

"Stupid kid." Dally said.

I laughed a little. Dally would say something like that.

After my parents talked to him, I approached him. "Hey, Pony." I said to him as he was sitting down on this pretty golden lawn chair. "Hey!" He said excitedly. "It reclines!" He demonstrated for me. I laughed and sat down on the chair next to him. "Yes. Beautiful place, isn't it?" "Well it's heaven right?" "Ah. Yes. This is true." We laughed a little bit. "Hey, listen, the reason why I came to give you company is because I wanted to ask you something."  
"What?"

"Why did you do it?"

He was silent for awhile. "I…I guess I don't know."

"You know that Darry, Steve, and Two-Bit don't really have anyone but themselves left?"

His eyes widened. I guess he forgot.

"You had a whole life ahead of you but now you left it go to waste?"

"Well, Johnny did too?"

"He died from saving children, Pony. He died from a good cause."

"Well what about Dally?"

"He died for Johnny, didn't he?"

"Well, I died for you."

It was quiet. He proved me wrong. I rumpled his hair.

"Well, little buddy. All I'm saying is you didn't need to cut your throat."  
We laughed awhile, then the others joined us.

"What are you guys talking about?" Dally asked.

"This little buddy here died for me." I answered.

There was a chorus of 'Awwwhhh's and then a chorus from me and Pony of 'Shut up!'s.

"Hey, we were gonna go take a walk. There's a whole lot of amazing stuff here, and you'll never believe this Pony but there's a drive-in that looks exactly like the one in Tulsa!" Pony beamed. He was remembering the memories from when he, Johnny, and Dally went and met Cherry Valance and her friend Marcia. I could tell. "Of course I want to go!" He said, standing up right away. I stood too, smiling as we started walking. I was used to the fact Dally, Johnny, Bob, and Randy were here. Ponyboy wasn't. When Johnny put his arm around Pony's shoulders Pony held back tears. "It's like a dream." I heard him say to Johnny. It would've been funny if Dally heard-he would make fun of him for all eternity…literally!

But I was still not used to Mom and Dad. Neither was Pony. When they came up behind us and took our hands, I felt a surge of excitement, love, and joyfulness shoot through me. Pony and I looked at each other and we both looked the same. Holding back tears but not frowning, we were smiling huge.

Our parents looked at each other and smiled, then we all joined the rest of the group.

The entire time we were walking, laughing, talking and having an amazing time…it was the best time ever-especially with everyone we _thought _were dead. Notice I said thought?

They are alive. Alive with us forever. When we arrive in heaven, we will reunite with the ones we loved and love them again. 'Being friends forever' can really be true if the friendship is great enough-just like us seven greasers.

Now all we have to do is wait for Two-Bit, Steve, and Darry.


End file.
